(Master Business Administration)
Charles Sturt University
COMPARISON OF HTML EDITORS
In completing this assignment I used both Netscape composer and word 97. In addition to this I utilised "CuteFTP" (a programme that I downloaded from the Internet) for publishing on to the World Wide Web.
I consider myself to be "very" computer literate and have used word 97 on a daily basis over the last number of years. However if the truth were told, I was unaware of Office 97's ability as an HTML editor and found the programme difficult and cumbersome to work with.
Netscape navigator on the other hand was infinitely more user-friendly and was obviously created for web design. The programme had none of the familiarity of Office 97 and it is possibly this factor which allow me to be more patient in learning the programme. What was difficult about this programme is that it does not integrate easily with some of the more basic tasks performed in word.
With regard to publishing "CuteFTP" is a far simpler package than Netscape composer, although I did not use "CuteFTP" for any design or editing work.
The majority of my work was done using Netscape composer and although
I battled with some of the features, I stuck with the programme.
To certain extent I did not explore all the options available in Office
97.
This report will deal predominantly with the differences between word
97 and Netscape composer but will concentrate more on the advantages and
difficulties experienced using Netscape composer.
Summary of Differences:
Getting Started
In getting started I attempted word 97, using existing document to which I made a few changes and then saved it as an HTML document. I then opened the document using Explorer expecting to find something that resembled a web page. I was quite disorientated by the fact that the document still looked like a word document.
I then opened a blank page in Netscape composer and it was immediately
apparent that was working with a programme similar to PowerPoint?
In fact the programmes are very different, but at least I had a starting
point.
After some trial and error I scheduled some time with a colleague who
does web designed.
My colleague explained the basics in terms of working with pixels, tables
and column widths that match screen sizes. From that point on starting
up in Netscape was easy.
Being very familiar with word 97 the set up and layout of the screen is very comforting. Toolbars are more numerous and easily understood and provide greater functionality. Particularly with regard to guidelines, undo and redo lists, bullets and alignment buttons. Word 97 is unfortunately not able to work with pixels. This causes great difficulty when attempting to develop a web page within the parameters of screen settings. Word 97 insists on maintaining known page sizes.
Netscape composer on the other hand requires quite a lot of getting
used to. Of particular inconvenience is the fact that one can only
undo a single command at a time. Another disappointing factor was
the inability of Netscape to toggle "caps". A particular pleasure
in designing index Composer is the "unlimited" size of the page.
The functionality of Word 97 when working with tables is extremely good when it comes to producing a word document. Features that are very useful are merging and splitting of cells, converting text to table (and vice versa) and sorting. However Word 97 does not maintain relative sizes when saving as an HTML document. This necessitates excessive formatting by means of trial and error. Word 97 also lacks the ability to set column preferences as a percentage of overall table size.
Netscape composer lacks the ability to "massage" tables using cell merge
or "converting" commands. Much of the data used for my web page came
from previous word documents that made extensive use of tables. In
normal word documents individual bullets are entered into each cell, converting
and using this data in Netscape composer was a painful and time-consuming
process. The strength of Netscape composer when working with tables
is its ability to determine table size in pixel format and then setting
column widths in either pixel format or as a percentage of overall table
size. The net effect is that you're able to design a very tidy web
page.
Inserting images in both editors was relative easy however Netscape
has a number of definite advantages in that it allows immediate formatting
of the image. In particular one is able to immediately set the size
of the inserted image in either pixel or “ruler” formats. In addition
to this is also possible to immediately specify the "wrap" properties of
the image. These functions also available in word 97 but require
an additional formatting process.
Identifying and naming bookmarks were equally easy and self-explanatory
in both programmes however when inserting links word 97 seemed somewhat
simpler. The specific difference being that word 97 maintains a history
of recently used links. This is particularly useful when the same
links i.e. "Mailto" is used a number of times in the same document.
When using bullets word 97 has a distinct advantage over Netscape composer. Word 97 has a very descriptive and large selection of lists, which can be customised to suit every purpose. In particular the margin settings, levels, selection of bullets and bullet colours are easy to select and apply.
The functionality and application of bullets and lists in Netscape composer
is difficult and the programme does not have enough options to truly enhance
a document. Predominantly due to the fact that I was unable to set
the bullet colours, I resorted to the use of "GIF" images.
The overall standard of help offered in word 97 is exceptional, however the help files provide very little assistance for users designing HTML documents. In fact very little benefit was derived from help files.
The help offered in Netscape composer was much more relevant to the
design of the document although in many instances information was sparse.
The browsing mechanism for topics was somewhat slow and cumbersome.
The overall information related more to the visual effect than the application.
In particular information on lists and bullets was difficult to understand
and apply.
Editing source to remove "gremlins" from the documents was an impossibility
in word 97. To physically change the source was easy, however I have
still not discovered how to save the changes so that they impact on the
document. In Netscape composer this problem was easily overcome using "HTML
tools".
Word 97 does not seem to offer the facility of publishing pages directly onto the web. Netscape composer seems to offer the facility but I found it difficult to understand and was unsuccessful in using it as a publisher. As a last resort I contacted my Internet service provider who suggested that I utilise an FTP programme.
The result is that I downloaded "CuteFTP" from "Tucows" and found it
to be extremely user-friendly and simple to use.
Word 97 is a wonderful word processing package but should not be considered for web design. It is however possible and practical to utilise word 97 when doing minor changes or simple documents. I would however not recommend that word 97 be used to make alterations to table properties.
Of the programmes that I have used Netscape composer is the most practical
for the design of web pages. The greatest downfall of the programme
is the difficulties that I have experienced using lists and bullets.
If new users learn to work with tables that are only one row in height
and pre-format any data that needs "importing", they should have very few
problems.